Yu Jingchen suddenly recalled that Nan Zhiyun had started clinging to him around the age of seven or eight.
Perhaps it was because of the incident that followed, which had left Nan Zhiyun with considerable trauma, that the Empress Dowager took her to the temporary palace to live. She didn't return until the following year.
At that time, the Empress Dowager was still the Empress, and he himself... had not yet been named Crown Prince.
When the Empress Dowager returned with Nan Zhiyun a year later, a little shadow was always trailing behind him, impossible to shake off. She would call out "Your Highness Brother, Your Highness Brother" all day long.
To be honest, he didn't have such strong negative feelings towards her back then. Less than half a year later, he was officially made Crown Prince. At that time, the struggles for succession were quite intense.
However, he was a prince adopted under the Empress's name, making his status the most noble. Furthermore, the Empress had the Nan family backing her. He had always been an ambitious person, so he felt the more power he had, the better.
Later, the Empress appointed Nan Su as his master to teach him martial arts. Everything seemed to be proceeding according to plan. Until he later heard someone tell him that his birth mother had actually been murdered by the Empress, with the intention of having him adopted by her, as the Empress had no son.
He was young then and lacked the discernment for such matters. Coupled with the constant influence from others feeding him this narrative, and the fact that people always discussed his backing whenever he was mentioned, he gradually began to resent such things.
Nan Su was a very strict man. Even though he was the heir apparent, the Crown Prince, Nan Su never eased up or showed leniency. He received numerous scoldings, punishments, and even beatings from him. It wasn't just Nan Su; the Empress Dowager was the same. They were truly harsh with him.
Consequently, he began to dislike them, developed a rebellious streak, and started putting on airs. But each time, he would be punished, leading him to feel that his position was being challenged.
Moreover, at that time, someone also told him that he was merely a puppet emperor they were grooming. They said the Nan family's goal was to control the emperor to command the feudal lords. Perhaps this idea was instilled in him then, and as their interactions continued, it became increasingly deeply rooted, to the point where it could no longer be changed.
These might have been the beginnings of misunderstanding. Ever since he harbored this thought, he was constantly trying to find ways to break free from their control and reclaim what he believed was rightfully his.
This extended to Nan Zhiyun. The people serving him then would tell him daily that Nan Zhiyun was someone specifically placed by the Nan family to be by his side.
Having grown up together in this manner, a bond naturally formed. Once she entered the palace as Empress and bore a prince, he, as Emperor, would become unnecessary, as they would support the new heir and seize complete control of the government.
It was precisely because of this that he so strongly disliked Nan Zhiyun, especially when she repeatedly showed her affection for him and expressed her desire to marry him.
Initially, he had thought that if she didn't bother him later, he wouldn't stoop to arguing with a young girl. But Nan Zhiyun insisted on entering the palace, and the Empress Dowager even instructed him to bestow upon her the title of Virtuous Consort.